[color=9C5F25]”A duel...?"[/color] Kei's brow furrowed as he heard those words out of the stranger, briefly processing this new information before it sunk in. He snapped out of his daze and scrambled to his feet, although a bit unsteadily. Kei was hardly in a state to be dueling right now, but this guy might've been just as, if not more, dangerous than Shinrei was. The boy took a step back and reached out for his disk, until he realised it was still strapped to his arm.

[color=9C5F25]”Is that why you brought me here?!"[/color] Kei accused the stranger. He looked down at his Duel Disk again, but it didn't spring to life despite his deck being set. [color=9C5F25]”...! Partner-"[/color] he quickly realised, patting himself down. After the duel with Shinrei, Kei's Silent Swordsman had been lying on the floor. When he reached into his pocket, though, the card was there as he pulled it out. First, the boy breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he looked straight back at the stranger. [color=9C5F25]”...Thanks,"[/color] he said bashfully. Kei couldn't have grabbed that by his own power, and he knew it. Whoever this shaggy-looking dude was, the fact remains he got Kei and Swordsman both away from Shinrei. Maybe he wasn't that bad of a guy after all.

Kei took a deep breath, then slotted Swordsman back into his deck. The Duel Disk finally sprang to life. With some flair to it, Kei said: [color=9C5F25]”Alright! I accept this duel... ack!"[/color] but was quickly shot down by the aching all over his body. It... probably wasn't a good idea to be dueling right now, but Kei was never one to make the rational choice. With a pained expression, Kei demanded from his opponent: [color=9C5F25]”You're taking the first move!"[/color]